My wife used to work in a sail shop. That is a bad *** sewing machine. The building had a raised wood floor and the operator sat down in a pit so they could manuver the huge sails as they sewed them. Kinda neat to see how sails are made. But the guy she worked for is a jerk....LOL

DanTwoLakes

01-21-2010 08:36 AM

The disadvantage of this machine is that it only has 7 1/2" of room to the right of the needle, it only has 5/16" of foot lift, it only has a 1/10th hp motor which is geared down to get enough torque to handle heavier sewing,(this would not be a disadvantage to a beginning sewer because it goes 1/5th as fast as an industrial machine) it only has drop feed instead of compound feed (compound feed is a combination of drop feed and needle feed), and it is a portable machine, all of which can create problems with the larger pieces involved in auto upholstery. It also costs around $700.

For a couple hundred dollars more, you could buy a brand new industrial compound feed walking foot machine that has a table, 1/2" of foot lift, a 1/2 hp motor, and 10" space to the right of the needle. For considerably less than that, you could buy a used industrial machine.

The Sailrite machine is a very well built machine, and would be fine for furniture upholstery, sail making, and lots of other types of sewing, but would be very limited when sewing two pieces of fabric together that are glued to 1/2" sew foam.

Coodeville

01-21-2010 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanTwoLakes

The disadvantage of this machine is that it only has 7 1/2" of room to the right of the needle, it only has 5/16" of foot lift, it only has a 1/10th hp motor which is geared down to get enough torque to handle heavier sewing,(this would not be a disadvantage to a beginning sewer because it goes 1/5th as fast as an industrial machine) it only has drop feed instead of compound feed (compound feed is a combination of drop feed and needle feed), and it is a portable machine, all of which can create problems with the larger pieces involved in auto upholstery. It also costs around $700.

For a couple hundred dollars more, you could buy a brand new industrial compound feed walking foot machine that has a table, 1/2" of foot lift, a 1/2 hp motor, and 10" space to the right of the needle. For considerably less than that, you could buy a used industrial machine.

The Sailrite machine is a very well built machine, and would be fine for furniture upholstery, sail making, and lots of other types of sewing, but would be very limited when sewing two pieces of fabric together that are glued to 1/2" sew foam.

You told me everything that I wanted to know. Thanks

Brimstone

01-21-2010 11:40 AM

It actually depends on which Sailrite machine you are looking at. Dan is talking about their Ultrafeed line (the LS-1 and LSZ-1), but they do have other types of industrial machines listed on their website - don't know if they also make these heavier-duty machines or just re-sell them, though.

But yea, his advise is spot-on.

Coodeville

01-21-2010 01:54 PM

"and 10" space to the right of the needle"

How much space do you have on a Singer 111W?

DanTwoLakes

11-29-2011 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brimstone

It actually depends on which Sailrite machine you are looking at. Dan is talking about their Ultrafeed line (the LS-1 and LSZ-1), but they do have other types of industrial machines listed on their website - don't know if they also make these heavier-duty machines or just re-sell them, though.

But yea, his advise is spot-on.

Yes, I was talking about their portable machine. They sell a machine exactly like a Singer 111W, but it is more expensive than the Singer.